Various Artists

Mansions and Millions Mixtape Vol. II

Back in high gear, or 2nd as it were, with mixtape take two from venerated Berlin label Mansions & Millions. Lots has been going on in this corner of the marketplace as of late. Here’s the pudding.

Included in the release are heretofore pretty much more or less generally speaking unreleased tracks from heavy hitters Jaakko Eino Kalevi (aka JEKS aka the most thoroughly consistently “all g” vibe guy in the game), Jack Chosef (currently sporting a coif so noteworthy and breathtaking that I deem it worth mentioning in this utterly not relevant context. His track is pretty solid, too), Better Person (given that this guy could sell rattlesnake boots to a rattlesnake, it’s no surprise that his Herp Albert cover is convincing), Helen Fry (more of this ASAP, plz thnks), Montreal rave dude Doldrums, and, finally, newbies from newbies Bobbypin and People Talking.

The remainder of the comp comes chockablock with the kind of stuff that gets you feeling that certain good way that some of us like to call the M&M mmmm.

Magic Island checks in with a new take on an old song (viewed in a certain way, it could be said that this is the case for most of the comp's songs, albeit replete with a wink and a nod), Intoxicated Sunset 2016. It is every bit the kinetic firecracker one would hope for from this most crucial scene fixture.

Elsewhere, Tendre Biche pull off the paradox of technically being a supergroup (the band includes members of Slow Steve, Helen Fry and Tetron) while at the same time not being a technical supergroup. Their contribution here - California - distills their essence down to their sweetly naive core.

Promise Keeper drops in with one of his winners (of which there are many - this guy puts numbers on the board), familiar to those who have caught one of his numerous live shows over the course of 2k16.

Finally, let’s talk about Sean Nicholas Savage. He holds a special spot in the hearts and minds of those who have or who have had the good fortune to experience his presence, so much so that he could sing Blow Me Away - also featured on his incredible 2016 release Magnificent Fist on Arbutus Records - to his reflection, and we would all nod along in agreement. Actually, I think that this really happened. One of them nights, one of them nights.

Here’s to those, here’s to these, and here’s to all that are still to come. Given the roll that M&M is on, one has every reason to believe that this golden era in which we find ourselves has a lot of juice left in it yet.